Support means for tying machine



P 1964 B. A. BOLZ ETAL 3,149,558

SUPPORT MEANS FOR TYING MACHINE Filed July 26, 1962 FIG. 1

FIG. 2

FIG, 3

INVENTOR5 Bernhari A. 50

BY Harald AMorrilZ United States Patent Filed July 26, 1962, Ser. No. 212,673 7 Claims. (Cl. 100-8) This invention relates to tying machines, particularly of the type capable of wrapping one or more strands of twine about a package and tying a knot in the ends of the twine.

In general, this invention is directed to certain improvements in tying machines of the general character set forth in U.S. Patents No. 1,606,290 of November 9, 1926, and No. 1,994,453 of March 19, 1935, issued to the assignee of this invention, B. H. Bunn Company. More specifically, this invention provides improved means for supporting and positioning an item on the package supporting table of a tying machine, typified in the aforesaid patents, which improved support means aifords a lateral shifting of the line of support provided thereby to accommodate the successful wrapping and tying of bundles or packages containing substantially incompressible and rigid items.

Experience has demonstrated that in attempting to tie one or more turns of twine about a hard package, particularly one of metal or like dense substance and therefore substantially incompressible, the activity of the knotter mechanism, as set out in Patent No. 1,994,435, for example, has a marked tendency to disrupt the twine during the twisting and tying functions performed thereby. This disrupting of the tWine is, of course, highly undesirable and wasteful, making for substantially unsuccessful or inefficient operation of the tying machine, requiring repeated attempts and machine operations to effect successful tying of the package. Occasionally the disrupting does not occur, but the uncertainty of repeated successful tying operations utilizing previously known tying equipment when tying such rigid or incompressible items has made it highly desirable to eliminate this difficulty. It is to this particular problem and aspect of the tying machine art that the present invention is directed.

In brief, the aforedescribed difficulty of tying hard or substantially incompressible bundles with tying machines of the character hereinabove referred to, is felt to be largely attributable to the failure of the package or bundle to give or compress under the pull of'the twine strands, especially at the time of perfecting the knot tie therein. As a consequence, the twine twisting and pulling action of the knotter mechanism overtensions the twine strands and causes their tearing or disruption. The solution to the difiiculty therefore appears to lie in the provision of a suitable means for decreasing the twine tension to a safe limit during the knot forming operation of the wrapping and tying cycle. The present invention accomplishes this desired end result and provides a simple solution to the above-stated problem by means of a simple standard mechanism or support means, attachable to the tying machine and adapted to support the bundle or package adjacent the knotter mechanism. With this device, at the time of perfecting the knot or tie in the twine, a slight resilient shifting of the bundle is permitted to relieve the twine tensioning produced by the knotter mechanism.

The main object of the present invention is to provide means for supporting a bundle or package to be tied in an automatic tying machine.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a new and improved support means for a tying machine which effectively prevents the disrupting of twine "ice I 2 or other wrapping material due to the tensioning action of the automatic knotter mechanism of the tying machine.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved support means, as aforesaid, which is particularly useful in avoiding disrupting of twine in tying a substantially rigid or incompressible object in and by an automatic tying machine.

Another important object of this invention is to provide an auxiliary support means adapted to be mounted adjacent the knotter mechanism of an automatic tying machine which affords a resilient, laterally shiftable line of support for the object being tied.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a new, improved and simplified device for preventing the overtensioning and undesirable disrupting of twine or other tying materials utilized in packaging and tying substantially rigid, incompressible objects in an automatic tying machine.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be recognized by those familiar with the tying machine art from the following description and the illustrated embodiment of this invention appearing in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of the improved support means of this invention located on the bundle supporting table of an automatic tying machine for operational support of an object to be tied as illustrated in phantom lines therein;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the same;

FIGURE 3 is another front elevational view, similar to FIGURE 1, illustrating the improved support means of this invention along with certain elements of a typical knotter mechanism of an automatic tying machine with which it is associated;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged detail view in Side elevation showing the portions of the package support table adjacent the improved support means of this invention as set out in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is another side elevational view, similar to FIGURE 3, illustrating the knotter mechanism in an intermediate operational position with the twine or wrapping material being tensioned thereby; and

FIGURE 6 is still another side elevational view, similar to FIGURES 3 and 5, illustrating the operational tensioning of the twine by the knotter mechanism and the attendant functioning of the support means of this invention to avoid disruption of the twine.

For a complete and full understanding of the automatic tying machine to which the present invention is directed and, more particularly, the details and operational sequences and elements embodied in the knotter mechanism with which it is associated, the reader is directed to the detailed descriptions relating thereto appearing in the aforementioned U.S. Patents Nos. 1,606,290 and 1,994,- 453. This is particularly true as to the various steps and operational sequences of the knotter mechanism as set forth in Patent No. 1,606,290 and especially illustrated in FIGURES 10-17 therein, as a consequence of which the same will be described only briefly hereinafter.

Turning now to the features of the particularembodiment of the present invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be recognized from FIGURE 1 that the improved support means of this invention, indicated generally at 10, comprises a substantially vertically disposed, rectangular metal support plate 11 fixed, as by threaded connection, to a pair of parallel spaced cylindrical guide rods 12, 12 which project laterally outwardly from one side thereof. Each rod 12 carries a resilient compression spring 13 thereabout, located between a bearing nut 14 (adjacent the one end thereof connected to 3 plate 11) and a first vertically disposed leg portion 15 of a support standard, or bracket attachment, designated generally at 16. Leg portion 15 is paralleled by a like second support leg portion 17, with such two leg portions being laterally spaced and provided with registeringly aligned openings, unnumbered, receptive of the two guide rods 12, 12 which are held in assembled relation with bracket16 by adjustment nut members 18, 18 threaded onto their outer ends, laterally beyond leg portion 17 of the bracket.

The leg portions 15 and 17 are integrally formed and interjoined by an upper arm portion 19 extending between the upper ends of leg portions 15 and 1'7 so as to form therewith a substantially U-shaped bracket structure. Leg portion 17 is also formed integrally with a transversely related lower base and mounting arm portion 20 which parallels the upper arm 19 of the support standard and which is joined to the lower end of support leg portion 15 as by welded connections 21, 21. The base mounting arm portion 20 is illustrated as being of somewhat greater length than the upper arm portion 19 and such is receptive of a pair of spaced mounting bolts 22, 22 by which it is detachably afiixed to the upper face of a stationary section 23 of a support table, designated generally at 24, of the type familiarly associated with a tying machine of the character disclosed in the aforementioned US. Patents Nos. 1,606,290 and 1,994,453.

It will be understood that the support table 24 is split or severed intermediate its ends at 25 to separate the same into the stationary section 23, above mentioned, and a resilient leaf section 26 on which the bundle or package B is located and supported preparatory to initiating the familiar Wrapping and tying operation. In this regard, a corner edge portion 27 of the stationary table section 23 is turned downwardly adjacent the split area 25 to avoid interference with the resilient and movable leaf section 26 thereof as the latter moves vertically upwardly and downwardly in operation according to known practice. To this latter end, specific reference may be had, for example, to the prior patent to B. H. Bunn Company, No. 2,898,847, issued August 11, 1959, for more detailed description.

From the foregoing description of the improved support means or assembly 10 of this invention, it will be recognized that the planar support plate 11 is adapted to move laterally along a guided rectilinear path defined by the guide rods 12, 12, against or with the forces supplied by the springs 13, 13 associated therewith.

As best shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawings, the standard or bracket 16 is affixed to the table section 23 in a fashion to locate the support plate 11 substantially vertically over the lineof severance or split 25 between the table sections 23 and 26. That is to say, the one face 29 of the support plate 11, adapted to be engaged by the package B, lies substantially over but slightly to the right of the downwardly turned edge portion 27 of the stationary table section 23 so as to define a lateral support and guide line or plane of location for the package B passing through the split area 2150f the table 24. This relation is brought out clearly in FIGURES 2 and 4 of the drawings wherein the plane passing through face 29 of the support plate 11 is shown coincident with the adjacent boundary of package B and to the right of the split or severance line 25 between the table sections.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 3 of the drawings, it will be recognized by those familiar with the art that the initial mounting of package B on support table 24 produces a situation substantially as illustrated in FIGURE 1 wherein the package lies on the resilient leaf section 26 with the one lateral margin thereof engaging the face 29 of support plate 11; the package being canted slightly at this stage due to the depressed or downward position of the resilient leaf section 26 of the support table. As shown in FIGURE 3, however, after the tying machine has wrapped one or more turns of twine 30 about the packages B and prior to the commencement of knot tying operation by knotter means 35, resilient leaf section 26 is positively driven or moved upwardly so as to lie substantially coincident with the plane of the stationary table section 23. In this condition, the package or bundle B is aligned as illustrated in FIGURE 3, in substantially full facial guided engagement with the locating plane of face 29 on the support plate 11. An enlarged showing of this relationship and the attendant upward movement of the resilient leaf section 26 is best illustrated in FIG- URE 4 of the drawings.

In the operational condition of the knotter mechanism 35, set forth in FIGURE 3, it will be recognized that the twine St? has been wrapped about package B with one strand portion T1 thereof engaged by a swinging lever 36, associated with the knotter mechanism, and thereby held close to the underside of the table section 26 in nearness to package B according to known practice in this art, fully detailed in the above-referred to US Patent No. 1,606,- 290, for example. Attendant with this operation is the retention of the twine in and about twine catcher 37, to formulate thereby a double strand section thereof comprising strands T1 and T2; such double strand section having been previously engaged and pushed to the right for engagement by the head of the knotter 35 by means of an associated reciprocating slide plate 38, shown withdrawn to the left in'FIGURE 3. In this operational condition, the knotter 35 has commenced its rotational move ment (clockwise according to arrow K), thereby to engage the doubled twine section or strands T1 or T2 along the underside of the lower movable jaw 39 of its bill portion 40. Continued clockwise rotation of the knotter means 35, to its FIGURE 5 position for example, serves to wrap the doubled strand section of twine about its bill until eventually the bill of the knotter is wrapped with a loop of the doubled twine section, as illustrated in FIG- URE 6. Thereafter, the lower jaw 39 thereof is depressed downwardly through suitable mechanical linkage, not shown but know to those familiar with this mechanism, for the purpose of gripping that portion of the double strand section of twine lying between itself and the twine catcher 37 (see FIGURE 6). As soon as the twine is so engaged, the lower jaw 39 moves upwardly to its FIG- URE 3 position to grip the double twine section, whereupon the knotter bill is withdrawn through the loop formed thereabou't to achieve the familiar knot tie, all as detailed in the above-referred to Patent No. 1,606,290.

Normally in such a tying operation the twisting of the double strands T1 and T2 about the bill of the knotter, as effectuated by the rotational movement of the knotter mechanism from its FIGURE 5 to its FIGURE 6 position, markedly tensions the twine, especially strand T1. If there is sutlicient give to the package, the tensioning of the twine slightly compresses the package to relieve the tensioned pull thereon produced by the twisting activity of the knotter. However, when the package is substantially incompressible, as in the circumstances confronted by the present invention, the twine twisting and looping action of the knotter accompanied by a lack of give of the package serves to overtension the twine, breaking the latter usually at the section of strand T1 located between the knotter and the swinging lever 36. Such section is designated T3 in FIGURES 3, 5 and 6 of the drawings. Consequently, even though the bill of the knotter may successfully produce a tying loop at the completion of its knotting operation, the package tie is unsatisfactory if the twine section T3, for example, has broken.

By means of the present invention, this undesirable happenstance is successfully avoided by allowing the package B to move slightly to the left from its FIGURE 5 position to its FIGURE 6 positon, i.e., toward the bill 40 of the knotter mechanism 35. This lateral shifting movement of the package, even though slight, has been found to be sufiicient to alleviate the overtensioning of the All twine to avoid its disruption. In other words, the lateral shifting of the package provides sufficient slack in the twine to permit the twisting and tying activity by the knotter mechanism to take place without breaking the twine.

In order to accomplish this desired result, the support plate 11 moves on rods 12, 12 against the resilient force of the spring means 13, 13 according to arrows L in FIG- URE 6, so that under the pulling and tensioning forces applied to the twine by the twisting action of the knotter, the package is also allowed to shift slightly to the left, actually so that the plane of its face engaging face 29 of the support plate 11 resides to the left of split line 25 on the table, as shown in FIGURE 6.

With regard to the operation of the support means to alleviate the tension forces applied to the wrapping twine as described, it will be recognized that the success of such an operation depends somewhat upon a balance of the inertia of the package or item to be wrapped, the twine strength, the tension forces applied to the twine and the resistance to lateral movement of the support plate 11 in a direction (to the left in the illustrated embodiment) appropriate to relieve the twine tension. These forces may be readily balanced and adjusted by the machine operator. To this end, the present invention fully contemplates means for adjusting the forces opposing movement of plate 11. This is provided for by means of the adjustment nut members 18, 18 associated with the outer threaded end portions of the guide rods 12 on which plate 11 is supported. Thus, for example, if the nut members 18, 18 are threaded toward the plate member 11 to compress the spring members 13, greater resistance to further compression of said springs will be brought about thereby to accommodate variation in package weight and inertia, as well as twine strength or its resistance to breakage under tension. Thus, regulation of the package movement B to the left at the critical moment of the tying cycle may be controlled by adjustment of the nut members 18, hearing in mind that heavier packages will require less spring compression and resistance to movement of plate 11 than lighter packages, due to corresponding package inertia differences, all of which may be regulated within workable limits by adjustable preloading of the springs 13. It is also to be recognized that the starting position of plate 11 is desirably maintained substantially over the line of severance 25 between the table sections 23 and 26 in order to permit a snug wrapping and tying of the twine about the bundle or package B.

From the foregoing, it is believed that those familiar with the art will readily recognize and appreciate the novel features and advantages of the present invention, and particularly, the marked departure thereof over previous rigid lateral support systems and package locating means utilized previously in this art. It is further to be understood that while the present invention has been illustrated and described in association with a preferred embodiment of its features, the same is obviously susceptible to numerous changes, modifications and substitutions of equivalents without departure from its inventive spirit.

As a consequence, it is not intended that the present invention be limited to the particulars of the abovedescribed form of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, except as may appear in the following appended claims.

We claim:

1. In an automatic tying machine for wrapping substantially incompressible packages, a table for supporting the package while one or more turns of twine are wrapped and tied thereabout, knotter means for engaging the twine and tying a knot in the ends thereof to secure the same about the package, support means mounted on said table for engaging one lateral margin of said package to align and maintain the same in predetermined relation generally to one side of said knotter means while the twine is being wrapped thereabout, and means operatively associated with said support means for automatically shifting the latter and said package laterally relative to said table and toward said knotter means in response to predetermined tensioning of the twine during the knot forming and tying operation of said knotter means to thereby avoid disrupting the twine.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 including means for adjustably regulating said means associated with said support means to thereby selectively regulate the force required -to move said support means and package laterally toward said knotter means and thereby accommodate its operation to various selected twine tensioning values.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said support means comprises plate means disposed to extend upwardly from said table substantially over said knotter means, means supporting and guiding said plate means for movement along a rectilinear path relative to said table, resilient means opposing said movement of said plate means in one direction, and means for regulating the opposing force of said resilient means.

4. In a twine tying machine for wrapping substantially incompressible packages, a normally horizontal table for supporting the package while one or more turns of twine are wrapped thereabout, knotter means disposed adjacently beneath said table for engaging said twine and tying a knot in the ends thereof to secured the same about the package, support means detachably attached to said table having a portion disposed substantially over said knotter means for engaging one lateral margin of said package to align the same in predetermined relation laterally of said knotter means and for maintaining said package in said relation while the twine is being wrapped thereabout, and means operatively associated with said support means for automatically shifting the same laterally over said table and toward said knotter means to likewise shift said package on said table in response to 7 near disrupting tensioning of said twine during knot tying operation of said knotter means.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 4 wherein said support means comprises plate means disposed substantially transversely of said table and having one face thereof coincident with a vertical plane passing through said knotter means and definitive of a lateral positional limit for said package whereby the same is located in preselected operating relation with said knotter means, guide rod means fixed transversely to said plate means, bracket means supporting said guide rod means for rectilinear reciprocating movement parallel to said table, spring means surrounding said guide rod means and extending between and engaging said plate means and said bracket means for opposing movement of said plate means to- Ward said bracket means, and means for adjusting said spring means to adjustably regulate the force required to move said plate means toward said bracket means.

6. For use in an automatic tying machine when wrapping and typing twine about substantially incompressible packages or like items, an improved support means for laterally supporting and locating a package in a normal operational position relative to the knotter mechanism of the tying machine while twine is being wrapped thereabout and for laterally shifting said package position to relieve predetermined tensioning of the twine during the knot tying operation of the knotter means comprising, a support plate disposed generally above the knotter means, guide means attached to said support plate for guiding the same for rectilinear reciprocating movement, bracket means slidably carrying said guide means for rectilinear reciprocating movement relative thereto, resilient means cooperating with said guide means for yieldably opposing movement of said support plate in one direction and positively moving the same in an opposite direction, and means for adjusting said resilient means to thereby regulate the force required to move said support plate in said one direction.

7. In an automatic tying machine, table means for supporting a package while one or more turns of twine are wrapped thereabout, knotter means for engaging the twine, twisting the same to form a loop therein and gripping and pulling end portions of the twine through said loop to tie a knot therein, and auxiliary support means for laterally supporting and locating the package on said table means at a first position therefor wherea-t the twine is wrapped thereabout and for automatically aiiording shifting of said package laterally toward said knotter means during the twine twisting and knot forming opera- 'tion of said knotter means thereby to prevent overtensioning of the twine by the latter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,201,688 Bnnn et a1 Oct. 17, 1916 1,324,590 Guenther Dec. 9, 1919 1,606,290 Bunn Nov. 9, 1926 1,632,324 Walker June 14, 1927 1,650,844 McChesney Nov. 29, 1927 1,994,453 Bunn Mar. 19, 1935 2,274,525 Bunn Feb. 24, 1942 2,873,664 Bunn Feb. 17, 1959 2,898,847 Bunn Aug. 11, 1959 

1. IN AN AUTOMATIC TYING MACHINE FOR WRAPPING SUBSTANTIALLY INCOMPRESSIBLE PACKAGES, A TABLE FOR SUPPORTING THE PACKAGE WHILE ONE OR MORE TURNS OF TWINE ARE WRAPPED AND TIED THEREABOUT, KNOTTER MEANS FOR ENGAGING THE TWINE AND TYING A KNOT IN THE ENDS THEREOF TO SECURE THE SAME ABOUT THE PACKAGE, SUPPORT MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID TABLE FOR ENGAGING ONE LATERAL MARGIN OF SAID PACKAGE TO ALIGN AND MAINTAIN THE SAME IN PREDETERMINED RELATION GENERALLY TO ONE SIDE OF SAID KNOTTER MEANS WHILE THE TWINE IS BEING WRAPPED THEREABOUT, AND MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID SUPPORT MEANS FOR 